


the lone rose with the deadliest thorns

by soapyconnor



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Not Beta Read, Psychic Abilities, Psychic Duelist Yusei, Slightly OOC Yusei, like i mean his entire history has been changed so ofc hes gonna be a little OOC, no betas we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:21:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29845572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/soapyconnor/pseuds/soapyconnor
Summary: When Yusei was young, other kids tended to mock him for his quiet demeanor. He didn’t let it get to him; why would he? They didn’t bother to talk to him, didn’t bother to try and get to know him.AKA: the role swap au no one asked for
Relationships: Fudou Yuusei/Izayoi Aki if you squint
Comments: 5
Kudos: 7





	the lone rose with the deadliest thorns

**Author's Note:**

> sooooo im gonna write this author's note to kind of explain the things i did when writing this fic.  
> obviously it's a role swap au fic, where aki and yusei are switched, jack and crow are switched, so are leo and luna.  
> i tried to retain their personalities are best as i possibly could, just obviously there would be some things that are changed  
> due to how and where they grew up. yusei's parents didn't die in the ener-d reactor accident, in fact they weren't even  
> anywhere near it. his dad wasn't the lead scientist in this au, so they managed to survive when the accident happened.  
> aki's parents are dead (obviously) and died in the ener-d accident, but were just near the explosion as they were   
> traveling during that time. wrong place at the wrong time type of scenario. i wanted to experiment with the fact that yusei  
> and aki are foils of one another, both who were manipulated by their pasts. they have pretty similar personalities, but  
> different situations influenced how they reacted and developed as people. in this au, yusei finds it hard to relate to others  
> and develop friendships, prefering to be alone. people see plants as weak, especially young children. but yusei, even in canon, tries to find the best in things and the best in people, which is why in this au i feel like justifies me having him use a plant deck like aki. i realize there are going to be some OOC moments, but just bear with me. i tried to follow the show as best as i could, and i know i stop at a really abrupt place, but i think for this it was fine. 
> 
> if you want to talk to me abt this au, send me an ask @yuseiigo on tumblr.

When Yusei was young, other kids tended to mock him for his quiet demeanor. He didn’t let it get to him; why would he? They didn’t bother to talk to him, didn’t bother to try and get to know him.

“If you talked,” his teacher said, her face drawn into a disapproving, and slightly annoyed frown. “Perhaps the other children wouldn’t make fun of you.”

He thought that was a silly thing to do. What would talking do? What could speaking do that would make him appeal more to the other kids?

Most importantly: why would he?

On the playground, there was a long strip of grass along the fence. Hardly anyone ever went there; why would they, when they had the entire playground to run around. It was the perfect spot for Yusei to sit and read, to go through the deck he had received from his father for his birthday.

Imagine his disappointment when he saw three boys tearing and ripping at the grass there. Yusei hovered, hands tightening on the book in his hands. It was a nice, sunny day. The sky was so clear, not a single cloud in sight, and it could all be ruined by these three boys.

His shoes crunched against the woodchips as he approached, eyeing them as he did so. Suddenly, the three boys begin to stomp on some of the foliage beneath their feet, laughing and cackling as they did so. There were some flowers that had been attempting to grow, and the sight of them being destroyed beneath the boys’ feet made something in Yusei crack.

He didn’t react, didn’t say anything to the boys. He just stood there, watching them destroy the sumires, his knuckles growing white as he clutched at the book.

He didn’t know how long it took for them to grow bored, for them to realize he had been standing there the entire time. But eventually, they turned towards him, one of the boys grinning at him. “Got something to say, Yusei?” the boy asked. Yusei lowered his gaze to the kid’s shoes. A purple petal had gotten caught in his shoelaces, and a lump formed in Yusei’s throat.

“Come _on_ , Hiro,” one of the other boys groaned, grabbing at Hiro’s wrist. Hiro just crinkled his nose, and swiped at his nose, before he and his friends left Yusei alone.

There was no chance of saving the sumires. The stems were crushed, the blooms separated from the bulb, and the bulbs themselves were split in two. He knelt down, setting his book beside him, and scooped the blooms up in his hand.

For some odd reason, he felt like this was his fault.

“I’m sorry,” Yusei murmured, feeling as if he had failed them. These flowers had done nothing but exist; trying to grow upwards towards the sun, and had been trampled for their trouble. Instead of saving them, yelling at the boys to stop, he had stood there and watched them be crushed. _They’re flowers_ , he attempted to assure himself, _they’ll grow back._

Even if it were true, Yusei still couldn’t help but feel gutted over it. Just because they would grow back, just because others would take their place, doesn’t mean they deserved to be crushed. They were defenseless, and weren’t harming anyone.

He’ll never understand why those boys got pleasure out of stomping on something that couldn’t harm them.

That night, when he returned home, he had the purple petals stuffed in his pocket. It didn’t feel right, leaving them there. Yusei tried to write it off as guilt, but there was something more there, gnawing at the back of his head.

He headed to his room and pressed the petals inbetween the pages of the book, knowing they would be safe there from everyone. He could protect them, then.

It was late when his father returned home, exhausted from his day’s work and smelling like an odd mix of chemicals. But still, his father managed to smile at him and his mother, placing a kiss on her cheek before kneeling in front of Yusei, holding out a new duel monsters pack.

Momentarily, Yusei forgot about the boys’ cruel crackling, and he managed a small smile. “Thank you, dad,” he said, voice quiet as he eagerly took the pack from his hands.

“You’re welcome,” his dad replied, placing a large hand on his shoulder, looking down as he watched Yusei open the new pack. “You’ll have to let me know if there’s any cool new monsters in there.”

“Or we can duel and I can show you,” Yusei smiled.

His dad’s eyes softened, and he smiled, too. “Of course, we can. I look forward to seeing what you have to show me.”

Yusei looked through the new cards, eyes eagerly traveling over every new one. His father usually came home with a new pack every other day, and it was something Yusei eagerly waited for.

Suddenly, he reached a card, and he paused.

“What is it?” his father asked, his voice soft.

Bird of Roses stared up at Yusei, it’s mouth wide as it let out a sharp cry. There was truly nothing special about the card; with 1800ATK/1000DEF, it was truly an average card. Even its ability wasn’t all that unique—there were plenty of cards upstairs that had similar effects. But there was something about it that caused Yusei to stop, to ponder on it. His mind kept going back to the flower petals upstairs.

“Something cool about that card, Yusei?” his dad asked again, shaking him out of his thoughts.

Yusei bit down on the inside of his cheek, then showed the card. “When Bird of Roses is destroyed by battle, I can summon up to two plant-type tuner monsters from my deck.”

“That card can certainly be useful. I can’t wait to see what you do with it.”

Yusei nodded, and looked down at the card again.

By the time he went to bed, he had searched through all of his cards, finding other plant monsters and spell and trap cards that worked well with them. They were laid out on his desk, ready for him to go through each and every one of them individually as he built his new deck.

The one card that remained through all of it, was Bird of Roses.

Yusei still went back to that section of the playground, still sat there with his books and cards. It hurt a little bit every time he thought of those beautiful flowers and the boys’ cruel laughter, but got easier.

One day, he approached the line of grass along the fence, and had to pause.

The sumires had grown back, better and taller, more beautiful than ever. They strained towards the sun; their color so bright it took him aback.

Yusei sat down, his cards forgotten for a long moment. They weren’t the same flowers they were before, and he knew they never would be. But they came back, and they were stronger for it.

There was something admirable in that.

Yusei developed his plant deck with almost a fervor. He had plenty of other decks, some based on machines, some based on an archetype, some based on nothing at all. But the plant deck he held near and dear to him. The plants supported each other, hefting the others up, causing others to come back to the field. It reminded him of those sumires, made him think about who he wanted to be in life. He didn’t want to be like Hiro and his friends; he didn’t want to destroy others, knocking them down and stomp on them. Yusei wanted to be the one that helped them bloom.

At school, he didn’t duel. Plenty of the other kids did, and his teachers always encouraged him to join them, but he refrained. Some people dueled too violently, focusing on power and crushing their opponents. He knew what would happen if he did duel; they would laugh at him, and underestimate the strength of his cards.

Unlike his dad. His dad never judged him or his cards, he always treated them with the same respect as he treated every other deck. His dad, at the very least, knew that there was something to them.

One night, he was unable to sleep. He had tossed and turned all night, thinking about things he couldn’t change. About how lonely he felt at school, and he couldn’t connect with any of them. It had suited him for a while, being alone like that, but he’s been thinking a _lot_ lately about what it would be like, to be such close friends with someone, like Hiro and the other two boys.

He didn’t want to bother his parents with this, purely because he didn’t want them to worry. Sometimes they would ask him about his friends at school, and he used to say he didn’t have any, but that he was okay with it. But then he saw the worry in their eyes, and he started to lie. They weren’t anything big; just that he had someone at school to turn to. There were some kids that didn’t make fun of him for his standoffish personality, or the fact he hardly ever spoke, but he couldn’t say they were friends.

(He still cared about them like they were friends. He would leave cards on their desk for their birthday—usually with a duel monster card in it, one that he knew would fit their deck—and would comfort them if they were sad. But they never invited him to join them on the playground, never included him in anything. Never returned the favor when his birthday came, and he realized he just needed to settle that they would just be acquaintances, never friends.)

Carefully, Yusei slipped out of bed and into the hallway. It was dark, but the lights were still on downstairs, and he could hear his parent’s talking. He hoped they wouldn’t be mad at him for getting out of bed.

He made it halfway down the staircase before he heard something that caused him to pause. “. . . I worry about him, Sanako.”

His father’s voice was soft, incredibly full of concern. Yusei had never heard his father sound like that. He always talked to Yusei in a kind voice, and sounded curious about whatever his son was doing, but never sounded so concerned.

“Yuudai . . .”

“No, Sanako,” his father said, and there was the scrape of a chair as his father stood up, “We need to talk about this.” His mother made a pained sound in her throat. “He has no friends, no one he plays with at school or outside of it. I worry about him being alone.”

Yusei expected his mother to defend him, to say it was okay that he wasn’t social with the other kids. He talked to them just fine, and he was happy. There was nothing wrong with him.

“. . . I know, Yuudai, I know . . .” his mother said, and Yusei felt his heart clench, his shoulders slowly dropping as he listened to his mother continue, “He’s always been quiet. I thought it would become easier for him as the school year went along, and that he would open up to some of the others, but all of his teachers say its hard to get him to participate. He’s intelligent, _so_ smart, but he doesn’t engage.” Her voice quivered as she added, “I don’t want him to be alone, either. But I don’t know what we could do to get him to open up to others.”

“There are after school activities we could enroll him in,” Yusei’s father replied, “At the very least, he would socialize with others that aren’t in his class. Maybe he just needs to interact with kids outside of his class.”

 _No_ , he thought, almost desperately, _Please, don’t do that. I don’t want to go to afterschool programs._ It would take away time that he got to spend with his mother; she always came home earlier from the lab than his dad did, and for a few hours every night, it was just the two of them. He would help her out back in the garden, and occasionally, they would play boardgames together. If he were to go to an afterschool program, he might lose all that time he got with her.

His mother was quiet for a long, long while.

“. . . I will ask the neighbor what programs they have Haru enrolled in,” she said finally, and Yusei closed his eyes, fighting back the emotions that threatened to spill. “Maybe one of those will be interesting to Yusei.”

 _No_ , he thought, blinking back tears he didn’t even realize he had, _none of them will be. I want to come home, and be with you. School is enough for me_.

He couldn’t stomach going downstairs and facing them now, not when he something that they would never say to his face. As quietly as he could manage, he retreated upstairs, and went to bed.

His mom gave him a couple of choices on afterschool programs. All of them seemed dull and boring, with kids that he wasn’t even sure would like him. He didn’t want to disappoint her, didn’t want to worry her, so he picked one of the ones he thought would be the most fun, even if he didn’t make any friends.

How bad could an afterschool dueling program be?

Yusei sat at one of the desks in the back, shoulders hunched and his head down. There were two kids at the front dueling, while the rest sat and watched, cheering on one or the other students. He spotted some kids that were in his class at school, and he wasn’t sure what was going to happen when he had to go up there.

( _Because of course he’d have to go up there. They wouldn’t allow him to just sit and be an observer._ )

Part of him wondered if he would be able to slip out unseen, and would just be able to walk home, instead of being forced to duel. But then he thought of his mother, and how disappointed she would be if she found out he left.

So, he stayed. Watching duel after duel, hoping that they would forget he existed, and not ask him to duel.

Yusei flinched as he was called up to the front of the class next, and his mouth went dry when he realized he was dueling against Hiro. He was probably the last person he wanted to duel—he knew it was silly to still be upset about the destruction of those sumires, but he still couldn’t understand the joy Hiro got out of it.

He could feel everyone’s eyes on him, and it wasn’t a feeling he enjoyed. He couldn’t tell what they were thinking, and he saw Hiro’s two friends snickering at him.

He really wished his mom didn’t make him join this club.

“Have a good duel,” the teacher said, smiling at the both of them, before she stepped back, allowing it to commence.

It was fine. Not really a spectacular duel. Hiro wasn’t as good as Yusei’s father, didn’t have half the strategies or cards that he did. Even though Yusei hadn’t been able to synchro summon any monsters yet, his spell and trap cards managed to keep him in the game. He wanted to see what Hiro was capable of, but all he had was brute force and nothing to prevent them from being destroyed by Yusei’s card effects.

It was a little annoying that the other kids applauded whenever Hiro did damage to his life points.

“Are you actually going to do anything?” Hiro snapped halfway through the duel. Yusei raised his gaze from the cards in his hand. Hiro’s side of the field held Vorse Raider and a facedown card. Yusei’s side held Twilight Rose Knight, Rose Witch, Arlownay, and Angel Trumpeter. Despite the attack power of Angel Trumpeter, Yusei hadn’t yet had her attack, waiting to see what Hiro’s facedown could be. He was clearly saving it for something, but the only question was _what_? “Or are you just going to watch as I crush your pitiful flowers?”

Yusei’s shoulders tensed. “They are not pitiful,” he said, attempting to keep calm. “Just because they don’t have the same strength as your monsters doesn’t mean they’re useless.”

Hiro scoffed. “Of course, you would think that. But that’s not true—there are strong monsters, and there are weak monsters. Your monsters are weak—just like you.” Yusei swallowed, hands clutching at the cards in his hand. He flinched as Vorse Raider attacked Rose Witch, and she exploded into shards.

Behind them, the other students snickered.

Yusei’s cheeks burned as he listened to Hiro play his facedown card—Raigeki Break. After discarding a card, Hiro chose Angel Trumpeter, and she, too, broke into a million pieces.

“There,” Hiro said, and when Yusei looked up, he saw that the other boy was grinning, “Now it’s just the weaklings left.”

_They’re not weak,_ Yusei thought as Hiro ended his turn, _They’re not weak. I’m not weak. **I’m not weak**_.

His hands shook as he drew his card. He had never felt anger before; frustration, sure, like when he realized his mom was seriously going to enroll him in one of these activities, but he had never felt _anger_.

“Gonna cry?” Hiro mocked, and Yusei looked up, blinking away the tears that had miraculously formed.

“No,” Yusei said, something inside of him snapping. His face became steel, the shaking in his hands disappeared. He felt nothing but the anger at being told he was _nothing_. “I am going to tune my Twilight Rose Knight with my Arlownay, and synchro summon Splendid Rose.”

His heart was pounding. Why was it pounding? He could hear it in his ears. Across the arena, Hiro yelped. The classroom had become incredibly quiet, no one even making a peep. “Then, I am going to equip Splendid Rose with Thorn of Malice, increasing its attack to 2800.” In front of him, Splendid Rose grew thorns, and took on a dark expression. Hiro’s eyes were wide, and he backed away, letting out a small whimper. Yusei did not realize that Hiro wasn’t the only one who looked that way, or that some of them were cowering behind the desks. Now Splendid Rose had more than enough attack power where once he attacked, this duel would be over.

“I am going to teach you a lesson,” Yusei said, surprised by the cold and calculating tone in his voice. Across the classroom, Hiro sobbed, his face red and ruddy. Why was he so scared? It was just a duel, nothing more.

_But if it teaches him a lesson,_ Yusei thought, and suddenly, it all became clear, _then it doesn’t matter if it’s a duel, does it?_

“Flowers cannot defend themselves, but that doesn’t mean that they are useless or weak,” Yusei continued, eyes burrowing into Hiro. “Get pricked by the wrong one . . .”

Splendid Rose attacked, his vines whipping out and striking Vorse Raider, breaking through it easily before the vines collided with Hiro, sending the other kid flying against the wall. Screams broke out in the room, and normally, that would have scared Yusei. He didn’t like loud noises, didn’t like when people yelled. But now, he reveled in it, as Splendid Rose attacked again, vines coming up through the floor and heading towards the spectators. Panicked, they ran out of the room, the teacher herding them out, leaving him and Hiro alone.

He didn’t even notice that his arm was glowing.

Slowly, Yusei came back to himself. Splendid Rose was still hovering in the room, Thorn of Malice still equipped. Vines and sharp roots poked upwards from the floor, almost like it was encircling around Yusei, keeping anyone else from approaching.

Across the room, Hiro laid bloody, his back to Yusei, his chest rising and falling with each pained breath.

_No_ , Yusei thought, his heart racing. His back hit the wall, and he slid down in the corner, hands grasping at his hair. _No. No! I didn’t want to hurt him. I didn’t want to hurt any of them_. Tears pricked at his eyes, and he felt sick. Pressing his forehead against his knees, he bit down on his lip. The only other sound in the room being that of Hiro’s sharp breathing.

Yusei nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Splendid Rose knelt in front of him, and Yusei watched as Thorn of Malice’s effect vanished from the synchro monster. Its touch felt real, and that _terrified_ him. This couldn’t be some illusion then—it was real, and Hiro was really hurt across from him.

Splendid Rose enveloped Yusei in its arms, and curled over him, a hand protectively going to the back of his head. Yusei scrunched his eyes shut.

_How could this be real_?

Eventually, Splendid Rose dissolved, leaving Yusei alone, curled up in the corner, with his face pressed against his knees, and his arms covering his head.

It felt like he had been there an eternity. Would he be left here alone? He wouldn’t blame them if they did. He had hurt Hiro, hurt him for no other reason than the fact he had insulted Yusei. It wasn’t even an insult Yusei hadn’t heard before.

“Yusei?”

That was his dad’s voice. Yusei froze, and slowly lifted his head. The room hadn’t changed; the effects of Splendid Rose’s attack scarring the room, and it made Yusei feel sick.

His father was kneeling in front of him, his eyes full of concern, but there seemed to be a wariness in them. That was something Yusei could understand, after all that had happened tonight.

“I didn’t mean too,” Yusei said, ignoring the vice grip around his throat. “I didn’t mean too, dad. I didn’t mean to hurt him.”

“I know,” came his father’s reply, and he took Yusei into his arms, holding him tightly against his chest. “I know you didn’t mean too, Yusei.”

“I’m sorry.” Yusei clutched at the front of his dad’s shirt as he was gently lifted from the ground. Gently, his father shushed him, holding him tight as he stepped over the rubble in the room. Yusei kept his eyes closed, hating to see what he’d done to the classroom. They stepped out into the hallway, and Yusei wasn’t so sure what scared him more: what had occurred in the classroom, or the overwhelming silence in the hall.

“Is . . . is Hiro okay?” Yusei asked. He hated the way his voice wavered. He always been able to talk normally before. Although, he supposed that’s what happened when he was scared. The room had been completely empty when his dad had come to get him, and it made him wonder when someone had taken Hiro away.

“Hiro will be fine.” His father stroked Yusei’s head. The hallway fell into silence once more, nothing but the sound of his father’s steps echoing off of the hall walls.

That conversation with his father would turn out to be one of the last times Yusei would get to step into a school building ever again.

His mother had joined them in the principal’s office, her eyes filled with tears as she desperately hugged Yusei, her entire body trembling. Yusei wished to never feel his mother shake like that again.

The principal and the angry parents of the children that had been in the dueling club were in the opposite room, and his parents had been forced to leave him in the office, lying on one of the chairs with his father’s coat draped over him.

He closed his eyes, and covered his face with his forearm, trying to drone out the voices in the other room.

“ _Your son is a monster_ ,” one of the parents said, “ _He destroyed a classroom and seriously injured another child. He’s a danger to society, and he deserves to be expelled._ ”

Yusei curled in tighter on himself, arms protecting his head.

“ _Our son has never harmed anyone before_ ,” he heard his mother before, “ _Yusei has always been a good, quiet child. Has never harmed anyone before!_ ”

“ _But when he did, it was destroying an entire classroom, physically harming another student, and terrorizing the other children out of their mind! It doesn’t matter what he’s done in the past. Your son is a **monster**_.”

Yusei was finally able to drone them out, and he laid there with his eyes closed. When his parents collected him that night, he would never be able to return to school.

His parents hired a teacher and a nanny, never allowing Yusei to go unaccompanied anywhere. His dad had immediately taken his duel disk and cards from him; it was only by pure chance that he had been able to save his plant deck from suffering the same fate as the others.

His parents still treated him the same, never made him feel like the monster that he had that night at the school. His psychic abilities—at least, that’s what his father said they were—never manifested unless Yusei displayed intense emotions. Very few times had that happened; it always ended with Yusei feeling immense guilt over what had occurred, and locking himself in his room for a few days, until it was under control again. He wouldn’t be able to handle it if he ever harmed his family.

Neither his mother or his father would try to convince him to come out during those days he was isolated. They seemed scared of him, his mom’s voice trembling as she would whisper _goodnight_ and leave food at the door.

It was something that Yusei inflicted on them without knowing. While his most prominent ability was entirely physical, destroying anything in his surroundings, he had a secondary ability that took years for his father to discover.

Yusei was ten when they finally had the discussion; he wasn’t sure how young he was when his powers originally manifested.

He sat at the table with his head bowed, eyes tracing the grain. His mother sat to his left, while his father paced. His tutor and nanny were present as well; Yusei didn’t understand why his father trusted them with so much information. They had been here since day one, but Yusei didn’t think of them as _family_. They were the ones to keep him in check while his parents were gone; well, only one of them was. The other was to keep him educated, since he wasn’t allowed to that privilege anymore.

“Since the incident at the dueling club,” his father began, and Yusei tried valiantly not to wince away at the mention of that night, “There have been moments where our emotions don’t feel like our own. I know you have all experienced it during one of the psychic events. We feel fear, anger, sadness. Then once we get a certain distance away, they leave, and there are no residual feelings left, not even a slice of it. There have been moments even when Yusei is not having an emotional outburst where I have experienced this, and I am sure you all have, too.”

Yusei raised his gaze, carefully observing everyone’s facial reactions. His teacher, Mr. Ueno, nodded in agreement. He already knew his mother had experienced it—his father wouldn’t have brought it up if he hadn’t spoken to hear about it. His keeper, Mirai, was nervously fiddling with her lavender hair. Finally, she nodded.

“His powers don’t just affect the physical,” his father continued, “He can manipulate people’s emotions, make them feel how he wants them to feel.”

“Please don’t speak about me like I’m not even here,” Yusei said quietly, hands clenched beneath the table.

“My apologies.” His dad grasped at his jaw, continuing to pace a groove into the linoleum of the kitchen. Yusei’s eyes went down to the table again. “But, Yusei, what I’m trying to say is that there is so much more to your abilities than we could even imagine. Your ability to comfort people has always been apparent, long before the incident at the school.”

“I don’t understand why it matters.”

“It doesn’t.” Yusei closed his eyes, holding in a sigh as his father stopped, placing his hands on the table. “But it is something that we need to consider.”

“I am going to bed.” The chair scraped against the floor, and none of the others said anything. They talked like he wasn’t even there as he climbed the staircase and entered his room.

As he laid, curled up into a tight ball, he could still hear them discussing him downstairs.

“What would you like for your birthday?” his mom asked one morning over breakfast.

“I would like to have a duel.”

“No,” his dad said, not even looking up from the morning newspaper.

“It doesn’t have to be with a duel disk—”

“I said no, Yusei.”

It was the same thing he had asked for every birthday since his duel disk had been taken away from him. Every year, without hesitation, his father said no.

When he was fifteen, his father came into his room and set a box on his desk. Yusei, who had been working on some chemistry homework that Mr. Ueno had assigned him, just blinked at it. “Open it up,” his father said, but Yusei hesitated. It was very rare when he was given gifts outside of his birthday or special events. Normally, he was given books or kits that he could work on. Very rarely was he given anything his . . . large.

With one skeptical look towards his father, Yusei carefully removed the top of the box, and stilled at what he saw inside.

“It’s a helmet that will help stifle your psychic abilities,” his father said, ignoring the way Yusei’s hands shook as he hefted the heavy metal object from the box. It was bulky, and lacked any color, but was shaped like a duel runner helmet. It was extremely heavy, Yusei came to realize, and he didn’t even attempt to put it on his head. He was already getting a headache from just _holding_ it. He couldn’t imagine wearing it.

“. . . I am not wearing this,” Yusei said, attempting to swallow the anger and frustration that had started to well up inside of him. This was not the time to do this.

Beside him, his father pinched his nose. “We can’t keep you inside this house forever, Yusei. You’ll be graduating within a couple of years, and you will eventually want to leave our home. You barely are able to control your abilities; you must understand that we have to take precautions to keep people safe.”

“Safe . . .” Yusei drew off, dropping the helmet back in the box. “Safe from me.” His jaw clenched, and he looked away from his father, dearly holding onto his emotions. “I want to keep people safe, but I will _not_ be doing it with that helmet.”

“It’s just for now,” his father said, as if that would appease Yusei, “The tech is new, but we are still developing it. I am hoping by the time you do graduate; we’ll have one that will be so small, it’ll hardly be noticeable.”

Yusei sat back in his seat, closing his eyes, hands gripping at the edge of the desk. “Will you ever just let me be?” He hated this; that his only social interactions were with his parents, teacher, and keeper. He hardly ever had any outbursts; he was extremely careful to make sure he wasn’t influencing anyone else’s emotions. There were days where he wasn’t as good at it as other days, but he was _so much better_ at it now. He understood that he could be dangerous—Hiro’s crumpled body still haunted him at night—but he needed to learn to control it, not suppress it.

“Son . . .” his dad sat on the edge of his desk, and Yusei looked everywhere but his father’s eyes. “Preventing what happened to Hiro from happening to others is more important, don’t you think?”

Yusei wanted to say no. That him being able to be himself and learning to control it, _actually_ control it, was far more important to him. He wanted to point out that having an accessory that could suppress his ability would be pointless, since it could break at any point in time. Where would he and everyone around him be, then? They would be vulnerable. No—what he _needed_ to do was learn how to control himself.

“Sure,” he finally murmured, picking at the fraying wood of his desk, “Whatever you say, dad.”

The thought of the helmet kept Yusei awake at night. He thought he had been getting better; thought his parents were beginning to realize just what he was sacrificing in order to keep those abilities under wrap. Every moment where he expressed himself had to be slow and calculated, making sure to keep control every step of the way.

It wasn’t hard to realize that they would never accept him for what he was; not when he could hurt someone at any moment.

Overhearing them quietly talking one afternoon in the back garden was what sealed the deal for him.

“. . . Yuudai, we don’t have to babysit him. We could always go to those dinner parties.”

“Sanako, it’s not just leaving him alone. They’re going to ask about him.”

“Let them ask. We’re not ashamed of our son. He—” his mother paused. “He did somethings, yes, but he has taken this as seriously as we have.”

“ _I_ am not going to sit there and listen to them ask about Yusei, not when they don’t actually care about his wellbeing. You know what their true intentions are when they ask about him.”

Yusei flinched, taking a step back as quietly as he could manage, and headed back up to his bedroom.

It was just _him_ that was affected by these abilities.

It was decided right then and there. He would not put his family at risk anymore, and if it didn’t matter if it was from him or from the judgment of others. Over the years, his parents never got out anymore, never did anything aside from an occasional dinner at a restaurant. Before the accident, they had a life—now, it revolved around him.

His guilt hung heavy, choking him until he finally decided what he needed to do.

Once his parents were both asleep, Yusei packed a bag. He had been given some money from Mr. Ueno and Mirai for his birthdays; money that he had never been able to spend, and instead had accumulated. He would be fine for a while, at least. He grabbed some clothes, a photo of him and his parents, before he slid his deck into one of the side pockets.

Leaping from his window was one of the most freeing things he had felt in a while.

Yusei wondered if his parents missed him, or searched for him. He always made sure to keep his face obscured from others, his shoulders hunched and head down, in case they just happened to be looking for him. Despite his urge to see if they cared, he made sure to never go back to his neighborhood, and to avoid attracting the attention of Security.

The money he had saved up served him well. He didn’t know if it was due to Mr. Ueno and Mirai feeling sorry for him, or if they were simply that generous, but they gave him more than what would have been seen as socially acceptable.

It wasn’t a good life, but for the first time in a long time, he felt free.

He wanted to duel again. It was probably incredibly dangerous and stupid for him to do— _Hiro_ —but he _wanted_ to. He was free to do what he wanted, but he still held back, remembering what happened the last time he dueled every time he closed his eyes.

_I don’t want anyone to fear me_ , he thought as he sat on a park bench, watching some little kids duel across the way. _Those kids were so scared of me. Their parents were scared of me. I know it would be reckless to duel, but I . . ._

Yusei closed his eyes, before he pulled his deck out, and began to shuffle them. It was stupid, he told himself again. It wasn’t worth the risk.

_Don’t you remember how you felt that day?_ The small voice in the back of his head chimed, _How **good** you felt? Sure, you felt bad afterwards, horrible that you seriously hurt Hiro, but it felt **good** to make him scared._

It had felt good. It had felt _really_ good to hurt Hiro for what he had said about Yusei. Cards reflected their duelist, and calling them weak . . .

A shudder ran up his spine.

_All right_ , he began, shuffling the cards faster. _I will draw a card. The card will tell me if I should duel again or not_.

He counted to three in his head, then flipped the top card over, holding his breath.

“Revival Rose,” he murmured, and slowly exhaled. It was decided, then. He felt that Revival Rose was the clearest answer he could receive.

His new problem: finding a duel disk.

Yusei didn’t want to spend his limited cash on a duel disk, but finally he cracked and bought one. That night in the cheap motel room, he sat with it in his lap, his hand running over the new metal. It was beautiful, but there was still some part of him that was fearful.

Yusei took a deep breath. _They can’t hurt you_ , he thought, _and you can’t hurt anyone else unless you lose it_.

Eventually, he put the duel disk away, and curled up on the ratty motel sheets. Tomorrow, he would get to duel again, and he would prove his parents wrong. He could duel without hurting anyone.

He was wrong.

He was _so wrong_.

He had intentionally tried to find a dueling area where there wouldn’t be many people. But their duel had quickly attracted the attention of others, and their small audience had turned into a large group. It hadn’t taken long for many of the audience members to start making fun of the way Yusei dueled, and the fact he used ‘weak flowers’. The anger that he had felt that day with Hiro returned, and he _hadn’t been able to control it_.

Above him, Queen Angel of Roses flapped her wings angrily, letting out a sharp, angry cry, before she dug her sword into the ground in front of her, sending concrete and dirt flying.

Later, Yusei would remember standing there as the debris flew around him, and thinking that his father was right.

He didn’t leave his motel room for a couple of days. The news of the accident began to spread and he had been forced to watch as news reporters covered it on TV. It disturbed him seeing the damage he had caused; but it was nothing compared to the amount of duelists who wanted his head on a stick.

Even nearly a week later, they were still talking about it.

“ _He’s a coward_ ,” one of the men said, a sneer on his face. “ _He hides behind these flower cards to make himself look weak, then he pounces when the time is right. But he doesn’t scare me. I am going to **crush him**. Those flowers won’t stand a chance against me and my deck. If he’s not a coward, he will meet me at the old duel shop on 83rd street at ten o’clock tonight._”

Anxiously, the news reporter nudged the man out of the way. “As you can see,” she said, her voice uneasy, “People here are very concerned about this duelist who somehow managed to destroy this entire area, an area that was loved by all of its inhabitants. It’s unsure—”

Yusei turned the TV off, surprised by the shaking in his hands. The remote clattered to the ground, and he moved back on his bed.

No one there could give a description of what he looked like, only what he dueled like and what card he used. They didn’t realize it was him—he could continue to live his life without being looked at like he was a monster.

Yusei could go about his life and never duel again, but he knew that wasn’t going to happen. He could feel the urge to duel in his veins, and it only intensified when that man had challenged him on TV.

_But you can’t go as yourself_ , he thought, _you wouldn’t be able to stand if the world hated you._ He imagined what it would feel like, seeing his face on TV and hearing everyone saying how much they hated him, _despised_ him. He could imagine the threats that would be made against him then.

His mouth went dry when his parents came to mind; the embarrassment they would feel at seeing their son becoming the thing that they tried so _desperately_ to hide.

No. He wouldn’t be able to duel his challenger as Yusei Fudo; he needed to become someone else.

That revelation shouldn’t have felt so good.

The man was waiting for him in front of the old duel shop on 83rd street at ten, just like he had said. Yusei hung back, peeking around the corner, trying to work up the courage to go out there and duel him. He knew he could do it, and the man _had_ challenged him despite what he saw, but it was hard for him to justify it in his head.

But he wanted to duel, and he had _liked_ what it felt like dueling with his abilities able to run free. The man wanted it, had _asked_ for it.

Slowly, Yusei took a deep breath, and slid the mask over his face, tugging his hood up. Then, he stepped into the street, and approached the man.

Immediately, the man jerked back upon seeing him, but quickly recovered. “Are you the duelist who destroyed that duel area?”

“Yes,” Yusei replied, letting his emotions flow. “I am. I am here to accept your duel.”

The man grinned, and activated his duel disk. It was all the permission Yusei needed.

Yusei ran from 83rd street, his chest heaving as he darted down alleys, trying to hide from Security as they headed towards the old duel shop.

Eventually, he stopped, bending at the knees and taking gulping breaths of air as he listened to the whining of the sirens.

Regardless of the shock to his system and his racing mind, he found himself smiling.

The duels continued. People challenged him, and even if they didn’t, he went to those arenas looking for a fight. It was nice to get to use his abilities, and when his face was not obscured by the mask, he was still able to keep his face as stoic as ever. The duels did nothing more than help him keep his cool, allowing him to get all the emotions that were curled up inside of him _out_.

It didn’t take too long for him to take it too far.  
His side slammed against the wall, and he grasped at it, attempting to keep upright. The cries of the people still echoed in his head. He had never seen so much blood before, never see _so much damage_.

“Why did I do that?” he whispered, hand clutching at his heart. “Why did I lose control—”

“—You have been restraining yourself for too long,” a voice spoke up, causing Yusei to jerk and press his back against the wall, his eyes searching the alley. Even when they landed on a red-haired man in a dark coat, he didn’t relax.

“What are you doing?” Yusei asked, his heart in his throat. “You shouldn’t be here; you need to leave.”

The man just smiled at him, and slowly approached, his hands up. “I’m exactly where I need to be, Yusei.”

Alarmed, Yusei asked, “How do you know my name?!”

Instead of answering his question, the man continued, “Did you really think you were the only one out there, Yusei?” He gave Yusei enough room to breathe, but not enough to escape. Behind the mask, his eyes were constantly searching for escape routes. “There are more people like you out there. You don’t need to hide.”

His mouth went dry. “I do. Don’t you see what happened back there? What I’ve _done_ —” He clasped the mask, stifling himself. Why was he talking to this man? “I should’ve listened to my parents. I should have never left.”

“But aren’t you so much happier?” The other man’s voice was so, _so_ kind. Yusei looked up to see him smiling gently at him. Slowly, the man reached out, grasping at the edge of Yusei’s mask and removing it from his face. “I know you feel better than you ever had when you were hiding who you truly are.”

He shuddered as the man’s eyes traveled over his face, but didn’t speak. Instead, he closed his eyes, and pressed his chin against his chest.

In the distance, sirens still continued to wail.

“I can help you control your powers, Yusei,” the man said, and Yusei scoffed, thinking about the helmet his father had presented him with. “I can help you learn how to control them, without having to stifle them.”

_That_ intrigued him. “You can?” Yusei murmured, eyes darting up to look at the other man’s face. The man smiled at him again and nodded encouragingly. Yusei knew he shouldn’t be talking to him, shouldn’t be even _considering_ going with him, but this was the first person who offered him a solution like that. He knew he was already going to go with him, but his instincts told him to say, “How can _you_ do that? Why should I even trust you?”

“Because I am like you.” Yusei shrunk back a bit when the man held out his hand. “I have been through what you have. You don’t have to hide in the darkness anymore. You should be allowed to rejoice in the sun, just like everyone else.”

Briefly, Yusei closed his eyes. Then, he took the man’s hand.

He didn’t have to think anymore. Divine did all the thinking for him.

His powers flourished under Divine’s steady instructions. Yusei wasn’t scared of himself, of what he was. He couldn’t change it, and he didn’t _want_ too. There was no difference between him and his abilities; take away his abilities, and Yusei wouldn’t _be_ himself.

Sometimes, late at night, he hated how his powers weren’t good. All they did was harm others, cause so much damage that it was nearly impossible for others to not get hurt. He used his powers to manipulate his opponents, to make them fear him. Those same powers kept other members of the Arcadia Movement from getting too close to him.

Despite seeing his psychic abilities as a gift, some part of him still knew that using them against other people wasn’t what he wanted. He didn’t want to harm people or make them scared of him; some part of him wanted to become friends with the others, but he couldn’t bring himself to. Thoughts of Hiro seemed to plague him, no matter what Divine said or did.

But then he would speak to Divine, confide all his fears in him, and would leave their conversation refreshed, with only one simple thing on his mind: it didn’t matter what happened to the outsiders. Given the chance, they would hurt each and every single member of the movement. Yusei would do _anything_ to protect the members of the movement and Divine.

Yusei wasn’t going to let that happen.

Three years went by without much fanfare. Yusei bloomed under Divine’s tutelage, grew more confident. He still hated using his abilities, and wouldn’t do so outside of the movement unless his face was safely hidden behind his mask, but he no longer had to be consoled by Divine when he came back.

Hiro, some nights, still plagued his dreams. Occasionally, the victims of his other duels would star in them as well. But then he would wake up, see how people treated psychic duelists, and a wave of calm would sweep over him.

People hated psychic duelists anyways—they would always hate them. Why should he care?

Still, there would be that niggling fear at the back of his mind.

Above him, Black Rose Dragon roared.

Yusei projected his aura over the area, and watched as everyone nearby slowly decided into hysteria. Their faces morphed into ones of terror, and they ran from him, screams drowned by Black Rose.

Quietly, a voice at the back of his head said, _You’re exactly the monster all those parents thought you were_.

He shoved the thought out of his mind, and instead ordered Black Rose to attack the opposing duelist, who was trembling in his boots across from him, frozen in place. The man screamed and disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Yusei’s eyes slid shut as the shouting and screaming became fainter. It always ended the same way.

Pain flared up on Yusei’s right arm, and he looked down momentarily to see his mark was glowing, just like it had the day he attacked Hiro. He froze, teeth digging into his cheek, eyes going wide at the sight.

“What is this,” he murmured, before looking up as he heard someone shout, “ _Hey! We want to duel you!_ ”

Looking up, his eyes landed on two kids who were trying valiantly to stand upright, despite their overwhelming fears. His heart seized at that, that same quiet voice going, _No! They’re just children!_

Before he could form a reply, he heard someone shouting, “ _Luna! Dexter!_ ” and a red-haired woman appeared, her forearm protecting her eyes from the dust. Upon seeing Yusei, she quickly put herself between him and the two kids. The girl was beautiful, despite the criminal marker on her face, and she remained carefully neutral, even though she should be terrified.

The green-haired girl—Luna, it seemed—peeked out from around the older girl’s skirt, her eyes wide. The boy put on a brave face, but remained behind her nonetheless. It was odd, how none of them seemed to be affected by Yusei’s aura ability. They were scared, but that was a reaction anyone would have to this kind of thing.

“Why are you scared?” It slipped out of his mouth without thinking, and the red-haired girl blinked at him, standing upright. She wasn’t fearful of him at all. Why wasn’t his ability affecting her? “Why aren’t you _scared_?”

Black Rose Dragon roared again, her wings expanding and the few windows that hadn’t shattered exploded into a million pieces of tiny glass, raining down on the three people in front of him. The oldest girl gasped, attempting to protect Luna and Dexter from the glass. It was admirable that she cared about them enough to put herself in harm’s way for her.

A glint of glowing red caught his eye, and his heart seized as he realized that this girl had a glowing mark, too. It was different than his, but it still glowed like his, and his mark throbbed as he stared at it. When the girl winced and clutched at her mark, he realized it couldn’t be a coincidence.

“Your mark,” Yusei’s heart was racing in his chest, beating so hard he wondered if it was going to come out of his chest. He never imagined he would see someone with a similar mark. He wondered if she felt the same pain and isolation he did.

The girl looked at her mark through her fingers, before turning back to him. Her face was stoic, careful, as she tried to figure out what to say. Then, she stood up, and took a step towards him.

Panic seized his chest, and memories of everything that had happened from the day he received the mark till now. No—he couldn’t allow her to get close.

“Stay away from me!” He shouted, and Black Rose attacked again, sending up dust and debris, allowing him to make his escape.

For a few days, Yusei was left rattled by the events in the Daimon Area. There was someone else out there with a mark like him, and there could possibly even be more.

Lying in his bath, Yusei looked down at his forearm. If there were more people out there like him, did that mean they experienced the same derision?

_Of course not_ , a voice chimed, _if they did, they would be here at the movement. With you. Not playing babysitter._

He thought of the criminal mark, that maybe she had just been put away for whatever she had done, but he was quickly reminded that it wasn’t possible. Divine would have saved any child that was like him or Yusei without a second thought. He would have walked through hell to bring her to them.

_No_ , he thought as he curled up in bed that night, _they’re not like me._

The Fortune Cup was something he would have gladly walked away from without a second thought. But Divine thought it was time to put themselves on center stage, to show them just what the movement was.

Yusei thought there were different ways of doing that _didn’t_ involve him being made a laughing stock in a tournament.

But Divine convinced him it would be fine, so it had to be, didn’t it?

But then Gill Randsborg exposed his secret in front of everyone in Neo Domino City, Commander Koda caused him to lose control, forced him to his limits, and Yusei wasn’t even so sure if the man was going to recover.

Yusei wanted to throw in the towel, to save his next opponent from the same damage that he had inflicted on Koda and Randsborg. Aki was the girl from that day in the Daimon Area—he would never be able to forget her, not when she had stood steadfast in front of what he really was—and she had such a kind heart. She dueled with a ferocity that Yusei admired, her monsters and cards working seamlessly together. Aki, despite growing up in the Satellite, never let anyone

use that against her. Her duel against Hunter Pace and Grieger were fascinating to watch, and he

did not want to hurt her. He was slipping, losing control on his abilities, and though he tried his hardest, not even Divine could help him make them obey him.

He did not want to duel her. He did _not_ want to harm her.

_But it’s what Divine wants._

Yusei closed his eyes, grasping as his duel disk. The next round would be starting soon, and he would have to fear the mocking jeers of the audience. Maybe this time, Aki would show her true colors.

_She will treat you just like everyone else. You will **enjoy** hurting her_.

Divine walked up to him, gently resting a hand on Yusei’s shoulder. Their position was reminiscent of that alleyway meeting three years ago. The thought of that day warmed Yusei’s chest; it was the day things changed for the better for him.

“You will be okay, Yusei,” Divine said, his voice reassuring. Yusei let his eyes slide shut, and take a deep, steadying breath.

“I worry about what will happen if I duel her.”

Divine squeezed Yusei’s shoulder. “You don’t need to think about her, don’t need to think about anything else besides winning that duel. Everything will be all right.”

Yusei knew that it wasn’t the truth. He was barely keeping it together—even now, it was hard to not overwhelm Divine with his ability, making him feel the same fear and confusion that was currently grasping at him.

They were given a few more moments together, before Yusei joined Aki on the arena.

The audience shouted and mocked him as soon as they noticed his appearance. Their insults, while not new, stung. They weren’t shouting this at the Black Rose, they were shouting this at _Yusei_. It was no longer the masked figure that they hated with every fiber of their being; it was _him_.

Briefly, he wondered if his parents were watching him.

Yusei swallowed heavily, slowly bowing his head as the duel started. “Do you hear them?” he asked no one in particular. “They hate me—they hate me more than they fear me.”

He didn’t even realize he said it loud enough until Aki replied, “It’s what you wanted them to do, isn’t it? You wanted them to hate you just as much as they fear you. You made sure to push anyone and _everyone_ away, no matter if they truly hated you or not. You wanted them to hate you.”

“They would’ve hated me regardless,” Yusei murmured. “My abilities . . . They don’t understand them. Anything that is new to them, they hate. They wouldn’t have tried to get to know me even if they could. They would gladly lock me up and hide me away than understand me as a person.”

“Have you ever given any of them a chance?”

Yusei shook his head. “It didn’t matter. That’s how it always will be.”

There was nothing he could do to change their minds. Even if he was quiet and pliant like they wanted, they would always be scared of him. He could have a vice grip on his abilities, and it still wouldn’t be good enough.

“This isn’t what you want,” Aki replied, and Yusei was still surprised that she was able to resist his aura’s influence. Everyone in the vicinity was scared, terrified, yet Aki stood up right, ignoring the large globs of tears that poured down her face against her will. “You’re _good_ , Yusei. You push everyone away to protect them. Even now, during this duel, you’re making sure everyone flees so they don’t get hurt.”

“Whatever was good inside of me died a long time ago.” Yusei looked down at his hand, noticed the faint tremors in the cards. “All I have ever done since I have gotten these powers is hurt people. It doesn’t matter how I acted, who I _thought_ I was. I was a monster, and just didn’t realize it yet.”

Aki inhaled sharply, and Yusei couldn’t look up at her. He didn’t want to see her sympathy for him. “You were just a scared little kid, Yusei. No one could blame you for what happened.”

“Oh, plenty of them did. I wasn’t allowed to go to school anymore, did you know that? My parents removed me from school at the request of the other children’s parents, and they did it without question. Until I was fifteen, I had only interacted with the same four people most of my life: my parents, my teacher, and my keeper. I was never allowed to go anywhere without my keeper, and our outings were brief. She was instructed to make sure I never talked to anyone.” Yusei closed his eyes, and felt a _thrum_ as a psychic wave went out, intensifying the emotions of the audience as he let go. Aki let out a soft gasp, and he could imagine her desperately wiping at her eyes, trying to stem the tears she couldn’t control. “My parents never said it, but they were scared of me. I don’t blame them.”

“They were never scared _of_ you,” Aki said, and Yusei slowly opened his eyes, staring down his opponent. She seemed so _genuine_ , she seemed to believe it. It made him sick just how much conviction she had. “They were scared _for_ you. What they did wasn’t right, it wasn’t okay for them to lock you away. But it was the best they could do for you. They wanted to protect you, and yeah, they didn’t do it right, but they loved you so much, they would do anything to protect you. That I don’t doubt.”

His stomach fluttered. “It doesn’t matter now. I am what they feared I would be.” He thought about all those years being trapped inside that house, only being allowed outside when his parents gave the okay. Sure, those moments weren’t horrible, but the loneliness that had plagued him . . .

No. He wouldn’t regret what he had done.

“Yusei . . .” Aki started quietly, “It’s never too late to change.”

He would be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about it—but that would involve leaving the movement, and he couldn’t do that. Divine was all he had. If his parents looked for him, they didn’t try very hard, and they must have given up on him. He wondered if they were happy without him around, without him ruining their lives.

“It is,” Yusei said, and looked to Aki again. He hadn’t noticed, but his aura had ebbed, and Aki’s tears had dried up for the most part. He wondered what it would be like, if he let his emotions go in front of someone who wasn’t Divine, or without the security of his mask.

He shouldn’t dwell on it.

“Splendid Rose,” Yusei began, thrusting his hand outwards towards Aki. “Attack Aki directly!”

Aki let out a scream as the vines lashed at her face, and Yusei let his eyes fall shut.

_She’ll learn now_ , he thought, _just like they all do_.

Something cracked inside of his mind as he watched his life points become zero. He collapsed to his knees, listening to all the cheers for Aki, and the hateful words towards him. His hair was a mess, wild around his face, and the rest was more out of control than usual. The strands of hair around his face stuck painfully against his cheeks and the remaining edges of his mask and for a moment, he thought he felt tears pricking at his eyes.

He felt sick. He had come so far, and this . . . Well. He shouldn’t have expected anything more.

“Yusei!” Aki called out to him, and he scrunched his eyes shut. The image of Stardust Dragon destroying Black Rose replayed behind his eyelids. Despite no connection between the two of them, it had felt real.

Aki’s words during the duel bounced around his skull. “Aki . . .” he began, one hand clutching at the sharp, broken edges of his mask, and ignored the pain that shot through his fingers as the mask cut pierced his skin.

She began to approach him, but stopped as a shadow fell over Yusei. “You have done enough, Miss Izinski.” Yusei looked up, relieved as his eyes settled on Divine. The man turned to him and smile, holding out a hand, which Yusei eagerly took. He leaned against his mentor, shoulders minutely trembling as Divine draped his coat over his shoulders.

“I need to talk to Yusei,” Aki continued, and Yusei glanced her way. Stoic and stubborn, her eyes were sharp as she glared at Divine. There was worry in those brown eyes, and Yusei found that odd. Why should she be worried about him? She should be happy she survived their encounter, and run away.

He closed his eyes. “Yusei needs _rest_ ,” Divine said, “Now, if you’ll excuse us.” Carefully, with an arm supporting Yusei, Divine led him off of the stage and towards the exit.

“Yusei!” Aki called after him, and Yusei let out a soft moan, murmuring, “ _Aki_.”

“Shh,” Divine hushed as the doors slid closed behind them. “You’re safe now.”

But _was_ he safe? Was anyone truly safe around him? Divine had abilities just like him, he had been subjected to them a time or two, but that didn’t mean he would be able to defend himself against Yusei.

A voice whispered at the back of his mind, _don’t you remember that duel against him, Yusei? The only where you injured him? It can happen again._

_Please_ , Yusei thought, scrunching his eyes as hard as he could as he laid down in the back of the car at Divine’s insistence. Tugging Divine’s coat over his head, Yusei curled up as tight as he could, and choked down the whine that threatened to leave him.

“Sh . . .” Divine rubbed his shoulder, “Sleep, Yusei.”

They returned to the movement, and nothing felt right.

There were other kids milling around, watching him carefully from around corners or discretely glancing at him as they spoke to their friends.

He figured he was a disappointment to them all; he was one of their strongest duelists, and he had lost control, failing spectacularly in front of all Neo Domino City.

Divine’s hand clutched reassuringly at his shoulder, tugging him close to his chest as he led him towards the elevator. One of the aids approached, dipping her head to Divine as she slipped into the elevator with them. Yusei didn’t look to her, feeling incredibly embarrassed by the whole thing. He had never failed like this before, hadn’t ever crashed and burned. He wondered what Divine thought of him now.

“The duel between Aki Izinski and Crow Hogan will be starting soon, sir.”

“What happens between Hogan and Izinski doesn’t matter now,” Divine replied, a hand carding through Yusei’s hair. He closed his eyes, his mind flashing back to those moments after the Hiro incident, how his father had comforted him and held him close.

Violently, Yusei repressed those moments into the deepest, darkest crevices of his mind. He needed to recover, and find control once more. He couldn’t allow his powers to run rampant—there were people here he needed to protect. They may not be his friends, and he may only observe them from a distance, but they were _his_ to protect, _his_ family. They shouldn’t have to suffer the same fate he did, the same disdain and derision. If he wanted to do that, he _needed_ to find a grip.

But he was tired. He needed rest.

Divine said as much, and led him out of the elevator when it stopped. Yusei closed his eyes, even as he heard Divine mutter to the aid, “All I need to know is the results. Yusei is my top priority right now.”

Despite everything, Yusei’s mind went to Aki.

He was exhausted, mentally and physically, but _God_ , he needed a bath. Despite Divine’s wishes, he found himself lying in warm water, eyes closed as he tried to mentally relax after everything.

Then, the pain in his forearm started.

His mark was glowing again, just like it had when he first encountered Aki, and like it had during their duel. It stung, and he winced, wondering what was happening at the Fortune Cup for his arm to be throbbing like this.

With his eyes closed and head tilted back, Yusei wished that things would go back to normal.

**Author's Note:**

> im not sure if ill continue this au, i just really wanted to get this au out of my head dkfjghdkjfg  
> i hope u enjoyed it! kudos and comments make my day
> 
> like i said, if u wanna talk abt it, send me an ask on my tumblr: @yuseiigo


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